I Will Always Hate You
by Haunted-by-Horizon's-Kiss
Summary: Massie invites someone to join Pretty Committee, but she leaves, finding out what kind of people they are.They think she switched. But that isn't all. When she switches to public school, a newscaster interviews her asking why. She blames it on the Clique.


**A/N: Hey everyone, another Clique story…. Just about a new girl who joins the Clique, finds out what kind of people they are and threatens to sabotage their existence…. Or at least that's how dramatic Massie makes it. Still in-progress, and updates won't be too often… doing two other stories at the time. Also, I haven't gotten to the sabotaging scene yet, but it will come soon. Short chapters sometimes, long every now and then. **

Clique

Tiffany sat on Massie's purple smothered bed telling her if her outfit was catwalk worthy or LBR-like. Massie held up a Couture white halter strapless top with diamonds, a pair of dark washed diamond studded glittered jeans from Wet Seal, denim pumps, and a diamond cocktail ring from Icing by Claire's.

"Lose the pumps and trade them with the white sandals and you've got a nine point two", Tiffany said. "But Tiff, why isn't it a nine point five?" Massie asked worriedly. "Because you're not wearing it yet, silly", Tiffany laughed. Massie sighed. "So, not funny, Tiff", Massie giggled.

"Okay, what about my... white sparkly cami, denim jean jacket, white mini, and denim pumps?" she asked as she held each item up. "Hmmmm, that's a nine point five!" Tiffany replied happily. "I need one that says I'm confident as ever and ready for anything! These don't say that." Massie said nervously.

Tiffany was the only one, except Claire, that Massie could confide her worries in. "Hey guys", Claire said as she walked into the room. "Hey", Tiffany and Massie said. Claire was already dressed in a red cashmere cardigan Massie knew she had borrowed from Dylan, dark washed skinny jeans, and a pair of keds. Massie caught Claire up on the clothes catastrophe.

"And all this worry is because... you're asking Dempsey to the Sadie Hawkins dance?" Claire asked. "Yes. Well, and because it's the first day back from winter break", Massie said. She didn't think she would ever ask a boy out, it was not cool, but unless she wanted to stand around awkwardly at the dance, she would have to.

"Hey", Claire said enthusiastically, "How about the halter top, white mini, white wedges, and cocktail ring!" "Ehmagawd! You're a life saver Claire!" Massie hugged her. Claire laughed happily. Although she didn't show it, Massie knew Claire liked it when anyone said something that made her fit in more. Massie pulled on the clothes, and tapped her finger to her chin.

"Oh wait!" Massie cried, desperate for some color on the bland outfit. She ran back into her closet, grabbed a red scarf and slid it into her belt loops, and then pulled on her red crocodile leather watch. "Massie, Claire, Tiffany, come down stairs, Isaac's here!" Massie's mom called from the intercom. She had put her makeup on earlier luckily. She got her rainbow colored slouch hobo purse and ran down the stairs with her friends.

They piled into the rented white stretch limo. "Hello girls", Isaac said. They all said hello then pulled out their compact mirrors. As they drove closer to Alicia's house, Massie gave Claire an eyeliner lesson. Massie only realized they had stopped when Alicia got into the car. Of course she was wearing Ralph Lauren, she loved him... and so did Josh.

"Aww... you dressed for Josh!" Claire said. Everybody laughed while Alicia scowled. "I always wear Ralph Lauren!" She denied. But as they drove to each girl's house, they all knew that their outfits were to specially impress their crushes. When they got to school, they all hurried out of the limo and sauntered over to the door leading into the school.

"Rate the outfit time!" Massie called. Everybody turned to look at each other. Massie looked at Tiffany. She was wearing a burgundy, couture sweater, gray wrap-around skirt, a white shirt, burgundy pumps, and silver bangles. "Regloss two more times, freshen up your eyeliner, and untwist your pumps", Massie said to her.

"Regloss once and you're a ten", Tiffany said back to Massie. Dylan looked at Kristen, who was wearing an aqua skirt, aqua and white juicy blouse, white cleats (for soccer practice), and sweatbands. "Take off one of the sweatbands, brush your hair, and put it half up", Dylan said. Kristen did what she was told then turned back to Dylan. Dylan sported a green cowl neck cashmere sweater, brown corduroy pants, brown leather laced boots with pompoms, and a fisher hat.

"You're a perfect eight point nine but you totally need to buy a more stylish fisher hat", Kristen said excitedly. Dylan jumped around. Alicia looked at Claire disapprovingly. "What, this is a good outfit. It is!" Claire jumped for her defense. "Um... I thought we told you not to wear those keds, Kuh-laire. The outfit is fine, but here", Alicia handed her black sandals. Claire put them on involuntarily.  
"Okay, you've got a nine point two", Alicia said. Alicia herself was wearing polo Ralph Lauren mini dress and blue platforms.

"Ten", Claire said automatically. Massie rolled her eyes. Why did Claire always act like Alicia was the prettiest one of their group? Massie was the alpha and she was the one who had actually had a real boyfriend. Massie clapped her hands, careful not to chip her French manicure when she did, to get everyone's attention.

"Okay, guys, we're walking to the beat of Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani", she said. Everybody counted in their head, except Claire, who rolled her eyes. "Ah-one, ah-two, ah-one, two, three, four", Massie counted. They walked into the doors. Everyone looked at them and stared. A boy whistled and a lot of others whooped and punched each other.

"We've still got it!" Massie said excitedly. Massie thought she'd hear Alicia say her usual 'Given' but she didn't. Then, instead, Alicia said, "No, she's got it". Massie turned around to see who Alicia was talking about when she saw her. A beautiful girl with long, burgundy hair swung around her shoulder, a halter top that tied above her belly button, short rollup shorts, and maroon alligator skin pumps.

"Oh no, she does not have it!!!!!!!!" Massie yelled loudly, and then looked around to make sure no one heard. Massie could smell perfume that smelled like a dish with too much pepper. She pinched her nose, grabbed Alicia's hand and pulled her to table 18. Everyone followed. Including "Mystery Girl". "Hi, can I sit at this table, you guys look nice", she asked with a bubbly voice. "No-", Massie began, but Claire interrupted with, "Sure". Massie gave Claire a mean glare. Massie pulled out her iphone covered with crystals, and showed it to everyone but "the girl" to signal texting time.

MASSIECUR: Who is SHE???? And Claire, I'm going to kill you! Uh!  
Massie quickly switched her phone to silent then opened to check her messages.  
HOLAGURL: IDK, and she better not take any of our boys!  
CLAIRE: Sorsy, but she sounds nibe!

Massie sighed. Claire was known for having spelling mistakes with her texting.  
Claire giggled and whispered, "Whoops". Dylan was totally engrossed in her potato chips and wasn't aware of texting. Kristin was staring at the girl. Tiffany was whispering to Claire. Massie elbowed and signaled everyone to be quiet. "So... what's your name?" Massie asked casually. The girl looked around to make sure Massie was talking to her.

"Oh, my name is Autumn, but you can call me Veronica", she said in an Irish accent. Massie looked confused, trying to think of how they got Veronica from Autumn. She shook her head. "Sure. So, Vera, why are you here?" Massie asked curtly. "Oh, I just thought I could sit here", she said quietly. Massie stared blankly at her. "Ohh, you mean, here, in Westchester! Well, I used to live in Cali, but then I moved here!" she said happily. Well, that explains the trashy clothes, Massie thought. "Yeah, but what about the accent?" Kristin asked.

"OH, well I was born in Scotland, but I only stayed there for five years. Massie saw Vera stare at someone in the background. Massie looked. "Um, why are you staring at Dempsey?" Massie asked irrationally. "Who?" Veronica asked confused. "The guy you're staring at, Dempsey", Massie said sighing. "Oh, uh, well, before he was here, he went to my school, and we dated for a while. It's just- I really don't want to be in school with him", she stuttered. "Ooh, dating gossip, spill!" Dylan said while eating a salt and vinegar chip.

"Excuse me?" Veronica asked. "You know, why did you break up?" Massie asked impatiently. "Oh, well, he moved, and the long distance relationship just didn't work. I'm just kind of embarrassed", she said sheepishly. Massie pursed her lips. "As long as you don't go after him, you won't have a problem with me, okay?" Massie said, more as a statement than a question. "Um, o k?" she replied timidly. "Well, then", Claire said friendly.

"Um, one question. Why the trashy clothes?" Massie asked disgusted. "Oh this, I just thought everyone here wore clothes like this, but I guess I was wrong", she looked around. "Way wrong!" they all said. She looked down. "I'll be right back", she said. In five minutes, she returned. She was now wearing a sleeveless turtleneck, black velvet jeans, and black flip flops. Everybody stared.

"Nurse's office", Massie whispered to her friends. Claire frowned in remembrance of the day she had to wear clothes from the nurse's office. "Aw, come on, why'd you change your clothes", the boys complained. Massie rolled her eyes, annoyed. Suddenly, the bell rang loudly. Everyone got up quickly, and walked out of the cafeteria. Massie grabbed Tiffany and walked away from the table.

"Hey", her friends called trying to catch up with her. She was suddenly overwhelmed with Alicia's chocolate spicy scent of Hot Angel, Kristen's cool, cucumber scent of Fresh, Dylan's mango scent of Tropical Fruit, Claire's sweet scent of Vanilla Sugar by the Body Shop, Tiffany's coffee smell of Cappuccino Frenzy, and another sweet, sick smell.

"What is that horrible sweet smell?" she asked. She turned around and motioned for Veronica  
to come closer. Massie sniffed her and turned her nose up in disgust. "Ease up on the orchid, Gawd!" Veronica looked taken aback. "Oh, uh, well, see, I was washing off the other perfume, but I could still smell it on me so, to cover it up, I put a lot of my normal perfume over it and I tried to mix it over my arms, but I guess it was too much." "Um, ya think", Massie replied hastily. She began to walk again, and her friends followed.

"I want to go to Starbucks", Dylan complained. "I want to go shopping", Alicia whined. "I want to go do my hair", Tiffany said. "I need to work out. I've been weak on soccer lately. Too much shopping", Kristin remarked as she glared at Alicia, who always wanted to go shopping. "And to finish the little "I want" session, I want to…. relax in the eucalyptus hot tub", Claire finished. "Eh ma gawd, guys, are you alcoholics?" They all looked puzzled. "Because, you really have some whine problems." They all giggled sheepishly.

"Now, as I said, I'm waiting for Veronica", she said, annoyed. "But, WHY???" Dylan asked. "Because, I'm going to bring her home and give her a makeover", Massie said tiredly. "What?" they all asked. "If the guys like her, and she's going to be popular, she can't hate us, so she'll have to become one of us", Massie said simply.

"So, she's joining the Pretty Committee?" Alicia asked bewildered. "She's going to take my place, she'll become your best friend", she said sadly. "No, A-lee-she-a", Massie said, breaking her name into four syllables, "she won't be as good of a friend as any of you guys are, she's just for advertisement", she joked. They laughed with relief.

Finally Veronica walked up to Massie's locker. "Hi, you wanted me?" she asked. "Yep, I'm gonna give you a makeover at my house, come with me", Massie commanded. She motioned for Veronica to walk next to her while the others stood around her in a flock like she was in a Britney Spears music video. Massie walked outside into the sun, pausing to put her Dior sunglasses on her eyes. She quickly re-glossed her lips with her new Mocha Jolt Glossip Girl, and started to walk again.

"So", Massie started friendly, as she silently motioned her iphone again. She quickly typed a message without looking down and sent it.

MASSIECUR: ok, guys, im gonna act lyk i luv this grl, so she'll accept our invite 2 r group, k?  
SPORTSBABE: ur tellin us this y?  
MASSIECUR: so, u won't thnk i went totally crazy and ghetto on u & strtd lykin this grl, im just gettin her in r group, k?  
SPORTSBABE: oh, k, sure, btw, aftr we give this grl her mkovr, cn i wrk out?  
MASSIECUR: u guys cn do wtevr aftr we finish her mkovr unless u still wnt 2 go 2 my slpovr  
HOLAGURL: fine. But we bettr go shopin soon. k, im in wit da plan!  
SPORTSBABE: oh ya, ok, in for me, ill wrk out l8r  
CLAIREBEAR: idk ? exabtly we're taljin bout, but im in!  
MASSIECUR: dyl, tiff?  
DYLPICKLE: lol, lyk my new name, anywy, im in!  
TIFFANYCO: sry, k, im in!  
MASSIECUR: all rite, phones in pocket, we're done! HOLAGURL: done. CLAIREBEAR: dome. They giggled. MASSIECUR: and done.

They put their phones in their pockets slyly. Veronica looked confused at Massie. "Why did we stop?" she asked curiously. "No reason", Massie said, as she continued to walk. They made it to the limo and Isaac got out of the car to open their doors. Massie slid in and pulled Veronica through the door. "You have a limo?" Vera asked, while looking around the spacey car. "No, we just rented it for today, we usually drive to school in our Range Rover", she said, trying to make conversation.

Everyone else slid into the limo. They didn't dare talk to Massie, so they started their own conversation. "Isaac, take everyone to my house, even Veronica", she made a point of adding her name. "Ok, nice to meet you Veronica, and we're off", he said, apparently in a good mood. "Nice to meet you, too", Veronica said politely. The whole way to Massie's house, she talked to Veronica, and only Veronica, which was a little boring.

Finally, they reached her house. She opened the door before Isaac stopped the car, and she jumped out right after. She walked to the mailbox and pulled out four little packages, then walked to porch steps and picked up two more big packages. Fortunately, they were all for her! She turned around to rejoice with her friends. She showed them all the packages.

"Gawd, Massie, what did you get?" Tiffany cried. "I don't remember", she replied, "I buy stuff every day". Veronica ogled at her. "What?" Massie asked. She hated not knowing what people were staring at her for. She checked over her clothes, looking for a stain. "You buy stuff every day?" she asked, amazed. "Yes", Massie said, inspecting her nails. Massie pulled out her wallet and showed Veronica her credit cards, then told everyone else to do the same. Veronica looked like she was in heaven.

"I'm suspecting you don't have one, you want one", she said as a statement, not a question. Massie hurried into the kitchen, while they followed, with Veronica gazing at the huge house. "Daddy just bought me a credit card changer, it's so cool, and it's legal", she said while walking toward a silver box. She grabbed one of her cards she never used, fed it to the machine, and punched a few buttons that said 'Erase' and 'Change Name'.

"Full name?" Massie asked. "Autumn Veronica Macintosh", Vera said. Then Massie typed in the full name. "Pick a PIN number, and type it in", Massie said, while moving, to allow Veronica access to the box. Veronica typed in a few numbers, and then stepped aside. Massie hit another button, then pulled the card back out. It now had Veronica's name on it, and was blank on the other side. "Sign here", Massie commanded again. Veronica did, and Massie handed the card to her. She held it like it was a newborn baby.

"Wait, who's gonna pay for this?" Veronica asked, "My parents can't afford it", she finished. "Oh, I know, my parents will pay for it", she said, matter of fact. "Oh, no, no, no! That's too much of a gift!" Veronica cried. "It's fine, their rich", Massie assured her. "If you don't keep it, I'll be mad at you", she laughed. "All right, but if your parents don't want me to have it, I don't need it", Veronica said.

"Ehmagawd, seriously, keep it, I promise, and since my parents are paying for it, you better use it freely, and profusely", Massie said. "What's the limit?" Veronica asked, "a hundred?" Massie stared at her. "No, it's unlimited", she whispered in Veronica's ear. She dropped her mouth wide open. "Okay, now, time for a little tour", Massie said, in a sing-song voice. She pulled Veronica to each room, explaining what it was, until they reached Massie's room. Massie opened the door.

"And, this, this is my room, the ipad, we call it, cause it's so white", Massie said. She heard Veronica take a big intake of a breath. Massie sat down, letting Veronica take in the room. The white carpet, the sheepskin rug, the imac, the modern shelves and dressers, and of course, the royal purple duvet cover on her bed.

"Wow", Veronica breathed. "Take a look at my closet, if you're ready", Massie teased. Her friends laughed. Veronica opened Massie's closet door, revealing hundreds of clothes and shoes. As Veronica looked at the clothes, Massie leaned back on her bed. Suddenly she sat up. "Daddy, Mom!" she called. She waited a few seconds. "I knew it, they're not home!" she cried. "And..." Dylan proceeded.

"Bean! She's still in her cage, poor little thing!" Massie exclaimed as she ran out her door, her friends trailing behind. She ran to Beans little room, opened the door, dashed to his cage, and unlocked it. She snatched Bean and proceeded to the long white couch. All the while, cooing to her dog. "You poor baby, aw, my sweetie, locked up all day, poor little girl", she cuddled, as she held him close to her heart.

All her friends started to pet him too, even Claire, who was part allergic. Massie got up from the couch, a few minutes later, and walked to her room again. She grabbed Veronica, who was still eyeing her closet, and pulled her to her bathroom, then shut the door, once everyone was in. She handed Bean to Alicia, sat Veronica in a chair, and stood up in front of them all.

"If you haven't figured it out yet, my friends, Alicia, Dylan, Claire, Kristin, and Tiffany, and I, are in a major group. We pretty much make up the popular group of our school. Yep, we're the ones people like you hate", Massie said. "Our group, or you could call it a clique, is called the Pretty Committee. Now, to get in the Pretty Committee, you've got to be cool, mean, pretty, you have to love to shop, you have to love boys, and you have to know who Juicy Couture is", Massie said sternly. "You, of all people, are not mean, however, ahb-viously, according to the guys' reactions this morning, you are pretty, cool, and you like credit cards. We'll work on your style, even though you probably don't know who Juicy Couture is",  
Massie said with disgust. Veronica shook her head, ashamed but shocked.

"Well then, I'm guessing you like boys since almost every girl does. We'll make you a little mean, and remember, Claire is in our group, and she's totally nice, but if she's mad, she can do major harm to the heart", Massie said, remembering the time they got in a huge fight. Claire gave a mean look, and then laughed.

"So, pretty much, you're kinda just for advertisement, and we're making sure you can't turn on us, and then you be more popular than us!" Massie shuddered at the thought. "Now, before you make your decision, you must know, that once you get in our group, you can never get out, unless I say", Massie said, with her nose high in the air. The girls looked shocked. Veronica paused to think. "I-I-I don't want t-to be m-mean", she stuttered. "Why not?" Massie asked with confusion. "If you're in our group, no matter what you do, everybody will love you anyway, even if you're mean to them", Massie said.

"Can't I at least be like Claire", she looked at Claire in admiration, Claire smiling back, "Only be mean when I have to?" she finished. "Whatever, ok?!" Massie cried impatiently. "Well, then, I guess, I'm in", Veronica said slowly. "Welcome to the most popular group in Westchester!" Massie said nicely. Veronica smiled excitedly. Massie pulled out her makeup bag and smiled back again. Veronica sat still as a statue, "Ok, I'm ready", she said. Massie grabbed her blush and got to work.

"All right, open your eyes, I'm done", Massie said. She turned Veronica's chair around to face the mirror. Veronica gasped. Massie had put rose petal pink blush, violet sparkle eye shadow, blue volumizing mascara, starry night eyeliner, and dark mocha lip gloss on Vera's face. "Wow", she said. "I look beautiful!" she exclaimed. "The power of M.A.C. and Sephora!" Massie said, inspired.

"Thanks Massie, and thanks guys", Vera said as she hugged each girl. "All right, that's all water proof so we can go in the hot tub later", Massie said. "Come on guys", she said over her shoulder. When Vera started to walk next to Massie, she pushed Vera back, and pulled her friends forward. Once Bean was safely locked in Massie's room, they walked downstairs. "Let's go to Starbucks", she said happily.

"Yay!" Dylan jumped in the air. Massie laughed and walked out the door. "Since we've got the limo for the day, we might as well use it", Massie said. She walked to the limo, going by the living room, Isaac getting up and following. Massie got in the car and pulled all her friends in. "Oh, sorry Vera, guess you'll have to sit in the back", Massie giggled. Claire looked sympathetically at Vera, remembering when she was that girl in the backseat.

"Isaac, to Starbucks", Dylan said hurriedly. Massie laughed, "I think Dylan's having a lack of Starbucks attack!" Kristin cried, laughing. Massie talked to everyone but Vera on the way to Starbucks. When they got there, they all jumped out of the luxurious car, and ran inside. They strutted to the counter, eying the cute guys there on the way. All the sudden, Massie remembered, she had been so overwhelmed with Vera, she hadn't had time to ask Dempsey to the dance! She walked calmly to the bathroom hoping someone would follow her. Alicia followed telling the others to stay.

"Mass, what are you doing?", Alicia asked. "I forgot to ask Dempsey to the dance! It's all Vera's fault!", Massie exclaimed. Alicia put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "It's fine, go to his house, it's more dramatic that way!", Alicia said with enthusiasm. "I guess, thanks", Massie said. Her heart immediately slowed down. "I was going to think of that anyway", she couldn't stand to let Alicia claim that idea. "So what about you and Josh?", Massie asked curiously.

"We're going together, so are Claire and Cam, Chris and Dylan, Kristin and Dune, and Tiffany and Jack", she took a big breath. "That's what we were talking about on the ride home from school", she said. "Oh", Massie said. "Well, yay!", she cried. She jumped up and down for her friend, and congratulated the rest of them when she came back out. They all loved the idea about Dempsey and said she should do it after they got their hair done, to Tiffany's joy. While Massie sipped her Passion Fruit Tea with added lemonade, she listened to Veronica telling Claire a story about her last birthday party. Bo-ring.

"Ehmagawd, ehmagawd, ehmagawd!", Alicia cried as she looked at her glitter covered phone. "What?", Massie asked, trying to see the screen of Alicia's RAZR. She slid closer to Massie. "Dempsey just texted me!", she cried. "What's it say!?", Massie practically yelled. "It says 'hi, do u know if Massie's gonna ask me 2 the dance, cause if she isnt, do u think it's against the rules to ask her?'!", Alicia read. "Oh, my, gawd!!!!!", Massie yelled. Luckily no one but her friends heard. Massie was exploding with excitement.

"Come on, let's hurry up and get to Jakkob's", she said impatiently. She quickly slipped a hundred dollar bill on the table and walked out the door. She started to walk across the street to get to the salon with her friends but waited impatiently for Claire and Vera. Claire finally came back. "Guys, Vera has to get home so Isaac's going to take her and come back to pick us up later, ok?", she asked. "Sure", they all said. Massie walked into Jakkobs and sat down in her personalized chair, her friends doing the same. So that the PC could talk easily, Jakkob had put their chairs in a circle. Jakkob hurried over to Massie.

"Dahling, what on Earth could you be doing back here already?", he said in his French accent. "I'm asking someone to the dance, now, I'm going to need some time to figure out what I want, so just wash my hair for now, same with the rest of my friends", she said. "Ok", he replied. Evana, one of Jakkob's many assistants, began massaging Massie's locks in the water.

"All right, what should I do for my hairstyle, guys?", she asked. They all replied with a shrug of their shoulders. "You've been through all the haircuts and styles you can pull off!", Dylan said. "Given", Alicia replied. "Hmmm...", Massie wondered. Suddenly, Massie had an idea! "Ehmagawd", she half screamed. They all looked at her.

"What do you think of short side bangs that curl in a bit, crimped hair, layered cut, and a dark butterscotch color?!", she exclaimed with excitement. They all smiled hugely. "Ehmagawd, yes, yes, yes!", they all cried. She smiled and rattled off the hairstyle to Jakkob again, while he wrote it down. From there, all the girls got inspired.

Dylan decided on getting her hair back to her natural curls again. She had missed them and so had the Pretty Committee. Kristin picked a face framing straight cut with extensions and dark highlights. Alicia made the little decision to trim her hair and get complimenting red-toned streaks. Tiffany dyed her hair honey and put in small curls. Only Claire was scared of such a big decision. She knew what she wanted, but was scared to tell Massie.

"Just tell me, Claire, please", Massie pleaded. "Well, okay, but don't laugh", she said reluctantly. They leaned in to hear her choice, making sure their drenched hair didn't touch their designer clothes. "My bangs, curled in, and my hair styled in barrel curls", Claire cringed for their reaction. "Aaah! That sounds sooo cuh-yoot!", Massie said, as the others agreed. Claire smiled in relief and told her hairstylist.

An hour later, they were all heading to the car with a new, dangerous look, that they loved. Isaac was standing in front of the limo and gasped when they each came out. They laughed. "Ok, we'll wait out here for you", Massie's friends said. She sighed with a deep breath. She walked up to Dempsey's door and rang the bell. He answered quickly.

"Massie?", he asked in disbelief. "Yeah, it's me, you like?", she asked flirtily. "I love!", he said, "you look great!". She beamed in her perfection. So…. What was it that you were going to tell me after school?", she asked casually. "I was going to tell you something?", he asked, confused. She knit her tweezed eyebrows. "Yeah, you said something about the dance…", she perfectly concealed her voice to make it seem like it was his idea to ask her out. "Uh, oh, uh, yeah, well…… you wannagowithme??" he slammed the words together.

"To the dance?" she tried to stifle a laugh as she teased him. "I don't know….wellllll…. I guess…", she didn't seem eager, but she smiled to let him know she was into him. "Well, as you can see, I can't stay", she looked pointedly at the limo. "Wow, uh, ok, I'll see you", he stuttered. He kissed her on the cheek and she turned around so he wouldn't see her expression. She ran to the car and jumped in.

"AAAHHH!", they bombarded her as she screamed. "He kissed you!", Claire cried. She was so excited and spent the rest of the car trip dissecting what he said to her, and what his body language was like.

That night, after Kristen made them all work out with her, they all changed into their pajamas, gabbing about the dance, eating low-fat yogurt and popcorn, and discussing the newest trends. "I am soo glad those stupid high-waisted jeans are out!", Massie said with emphasis. "Duh!", Kristin replied. Massie got up and walked over to her vast selection of DVDs. "OMG, who here wants to watch the hot Matthew McConaughey, hey, hey?", Massie asked. They all yelled out tiredly. She inserted "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days" into the slot. She picked up the universal remote loaded with 30+ buttons and hit play. By the end of the movie, which was 3:30 A.M., they had fallen in a deep sleep.

Massie suddenly woke up to her iphone ringing "Applebottom Jeans". Apparently Dylan was awake too, because Massie heard her quietly singing, "Applebottom jeans, boots with da fur, the whole club lookin at her...". Massie giggled. She reached for her textured phone, and touched the green phone icon.

"Hullo?", Massie asked. She heard boys about 8 or 9 years old laughing in the background. "Is your refrigerator running?", a childish voice asked. "Yup, but ours is out of style this year, so we have to buy another anyway. "Uh-", he said. "She ruined the punchline!", she heard in the background. She smiled. "Sorry to ruin the fun, boys, but I don't like being dissed by a bunch of 8-year-olds", she said sarcastically. She hung up the phone with a sigh and looked at her digital clock imprinted on the ceiling. 10:17!

So she'd get an outfit on, wake up her friends, go shopping, eat, and swim. As she tapped that into her iphone schedule, Dylan walked over to Massie, peeking over her slender shoulder. Massie quickly slammed her phone, face down, on her night stand. She turned around and narrowed her eyes as Dylan pretended she was inspecting her lime green nails. Why did all her friends still have to try to see her private stuff? They'd never see it and they should just accept it. Dylan smiled sheepishly. Massie rolled her eyes.

"Go wake everyone up so I can pick out my outfit for today", Massie commanded. Dylan sighed and began to step on people to wake them up. Massie walked into her huge closet. "Owww, Dylan, get off my arm!", Alicia screeched. This was followed by a series of squeals and squeaks from Claire, Kristin, and Tiffany. Massie giggled as she picked out the perfect outfit. In a matter of 10 minutes, she had dragged her mannequin into her bathroom, put the clothes on it, rated it herself (9.7), and took a shower.

When she twirled out of the bathroom, she was wearing a cyan tunic from Calypso, a metallic gold buckle belt from Buckle, brown lace leggings, brown mary-jane flats from Carnival, and a metallic gold prada clutch. "Rate me", she announced. "Um, first explain the nudity of the face", Tiffany said, disgusted, "Not that you don't look great without makeup, it's just...", she trailed off. Massie smirked. "Since we're going to the mall, we might as well go into Sephora to try on stuff!", she said cheerfully though she hoped she wouldn't see anyone from school until they got into Sephora and put on makeup. They nodded back at her, enthusiastically.

"So rate!", Massie demanded. "Hmmm... 9.8!", Alicia chose for everyone. They all nodded agreeably. "Yay!" Massie cried. She ran into her bathroom again, grabbed a gold tie-around headband, and tied it onto her hair. She came out again. "Now it's a 10, right?", she asked. "Yes!" Claire replied. Massie noticed Dylan coming out of her closet wearing a fitted athletic-looking shirt dress with a drawstring tie, a pair of pumas, a slouch hobo bag, and an arm band reaching up to her elbow.  
Massie squealed with delight and hurried to look at the size tag.

"Size 4!" she exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell us?" Dylan laughed with excitement in her emerald eyes. "Well, I didn't know what you guys would think. I mean, it's not that big a deal when all of you guys are 2s and 0s", she finished quickly. "Get out of here! We think it's great, right guys?", Claire exclaimed. Everyone cheered. Dylan laughed as she enjoyed her time in the spotlight. Kristin had gone into the bathroom during the cheering and came back out wearing a cross strap, purple top, dark washed jeans, dark, mahogany clogs, and a black beret styled hat.

"Dylan is a 9.2, and Kristin is a 9.4", Massie said loudly. Kristin playfully teased Dylan by wiggling her fingers at her. Then came Claire sporting a yellow laced eyelet tank top, a denim jean skirt, flowered flip flops, and a hee-uge yellow jewel necklace. "I think I'm a ten", she said in a Paris Hiltonesque voice. They all laughed. "Actually, Claire's a 9.5, and she didn't borrow any of that stuff!" Massie said, surprised. Claire smiled brightly and thanked Massie as if she had just won an Emmy award.

Then, wearing a red silk Aztek halter, dark washed super flare jeans, and red stilettos, came Tiffany. With her honey curls, the outfit snapped together and made a style of a fashionable, girl version of James Bond. The clothes also flattened her slender shape and made her truly look like a star. She fluffed her curls and gave her best sultry look. Massie couldn't take this! Tiffany couldn't look better than her!

"That's a good outfit, but not for you or your shape, lemme try it on and take the credit. And I want your hair!", Massie wanted to say. But she knew she couldn't. "That's really cute, you're a 9.8!", Massie stumbled, trying to sound excited. "Wow, high praise from the master, thanks!", Tiffany replied honestly. Good! They still knew where Massie fell in the pyramid. Right at the top!  
"Ehmagawd, I just luhv my new black and gold D&G sunglasses, and my metallic gold bikini", Massie said later, wearing both. She lowered her glasses, shooed away the hired masseuse, retied her bikini, and slipped her feet into the heated pool. The silky water surrounded her calfs, then her thighs. Then she slipped in her thin as a rail stomach, her chest, and finally her shoulders.

Dylan shook off her cashmere towel and refastened her glistening green one-piece. "No offense, but my bikini's cuter!", Alicia teased, showing off her Couture red and gold suit. "Nuh-uh, mine's cuter", Claire laughed. She walked into the pool, and sat next to Massie.

Massie felt her soft lime green shimmer suit rub against her leg. "Isn't it soft?", Claire asked. Massie rolled her eyes, "Like that matters". Claire nudged Massie with a smirk on her face as Massie pursed her lips. "Tiffany's is cooler", Tiffany said in 3rd person. "Oh, sure, your white bikini with rhinestones, is better than my turquoise ruffle bikini suit?" Kristin laughed as they slipped into the pool with Alicia. "Come on, get in", Claire said to Dylan. "If you say so", she said, smiling mischieviously.

"Uh-oh", Massie said slowly. Dylan took a run from the wall, and jumped into the pool curled up in a ball yelling "Cannonball!". Everyone shielded their new hair from the splashed water. "Dylan! You could ruin your hair!" Massie exclaimed. "My hair will be fine!" Dylan laughed, and swam over to Massie's side. Claire giggled, got up to put on a stylish bathing cap, and follow Dylan's jump. Massie put her nose in the air. "Claire, do you have any more of those caps to put over my hair?" She walked over to Claire with the other girls following her. Claire walked over to her swim tote and pulled out a cap for each girl.

They all jumped in except Massie. She walked over to the high dive, climbed the ladder, and expertly dived off, doing a front flip in the process. The girls stared at her. "I spent a lot of time at the pool during the summer", she shrugged. She then swam a lap gracefully across the pool. "That's called the breath stroke", she said. "Does it make your boobs grow, cause then Alicia probably shouldn't do it", Dylan teased. Alicia playfully swatted her on the arm and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Guys! It's the BREATH stroke, not the BREAST stroke!" Massie whined to her immature friends. She swam a couple more laps, eying her friends, who were huddled in a group, talking. When she was finished, she swam over to them, at the edge of the 3-foot shallow end of the pool. "Come on, guys", she demanded. They followed her to the set of white chaise lounges. Alicia caught Massie's small nod and strutted over to the intercom mounted on the water-splashed wall. "Inez, please call the professional manicurist over to the pool", Alicia said. "I'll send her right over", Inez replied. Massie was turning on her tanning light. She had to have a tan, even in the winter and fall.

Suddenly, the manicurist appeared in front of Massie. Her knees popped as she bent to Massie's view. "Hello, Massie, what color today?" she asked clearly but tiredly. "I'll take a Shimmer #735 Cherry Red french manicure", she said, without hesitation. Rita cleared her throat and sighed. "And are these other girls wanting manicures fo-", she paused as Massie gave her a 'Of course' look, "and pedicures for themselves?" she finished. "Duh!" Massie rolled her eyes. Rita sighed again. "What would you girls like?" The girls all shouted out their colors at the same time.

Emerald Glory for Dylan, True Blue for Kristin, Hot Pink for Tiffany, Bright Sunshine for Claire, and Metallic Gold for Alicia. Somehow, Rita heard all these requests and started to paint the big toe of each girl. Massie flipped through a Teen Vogue magazine, reading the interesting articles only. Then she turned to her friends and showed them a beautiful teen with long black hair dressed in a BCBG dress with embroidery on it. As she looked through 700 pages of glory, she thought of how fun... and romantic, the dance was going to be with Dempsey. Suddenly, she was waken up from her daydream.

"I'm done Massie, can I go?" Rita was asking. "Uh-sure", Massie said quickly. Rita hurried out of the room before Massie could order her to do any more. Massie looked admirably at her blood red nails. "Guys, let's go put my clothes in my closet, and you can stay over for a while longer!", she said excitedly.

Massie turned on the bubble jets bath and threw in a fizzy ball for scent. When she finished, she walked up to her room. As she powered up her white ipod and placed it in it's dock, she started to pack up a couple magazines for school, the next day. She started to hum, "If I could die, before I wake, it's cause you took my breath away, losing you is like living...", to the song, No Air. She flicked on her wii, then her tv, and connected the Wii Fit, to the tv and inserted the cd for it. She began the exercising routine, pulling out a SpringFresh water bottle and a NutriGrain bar. "Nice!" the automatic voice on the tv prompted. She sighed at the dumb instructor, did a few more exercises, then switched to yoga mode. As she sat and "Omm"ed, she admired her cute workout outfit.

A pink tube top, gray gauchos, and black flip flops, of course, that were thrown onto her bed when she had began. Suddenly, her mother walked in. "Honey, I got you a new Wii game for you!" her mom said excitedly. Massie quickly put the game on pause, and her head shot up. "It's the American Idol game!" her mother said. Massie jumped up and hugged her mom, reaching behind her back to grab the game swiftly. She ejected the workout session and put in AI.

"Oh wait!" She held her index finger up to her mother and hurried into her bathroom, draining the bath. At least her bathroom smelled good now. She ran back into her room and grabbed her wii remote. She quickly scrolled through the options and made her own character. Then, she made one for each of her friends, and her mom, from request. She went through all the songs, and picked Glamorous by Fergie.

"G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S, flyin first class, up in the sky, poppin' champagne, livin' my life", she sang with the words. When she was done, she listened quietly to the judges critiques, shushing her mom when she complimented Massie. "That was magical, just magical. I love your voice, and you just glammed up Glamorous", Paula Abdul said. "Yo, dawg, your my dawg! Yo, you're awesome!" Randy Jackson critiqued. "That wasn't the best, but it was sure a great try!" Simon Cowell complimented. Massie frowned at that one, until her mom stood up and took the microphone. Massie looked alarmed as her mother scrolled throughout the songs, picking "Walking on Sunshine". Massie was still frozen with shock. Her mother was known for having a horrible voice.

"MMMMMmmmm-ee-oo-eeoooo!" her mother started, offkey already. "I used to think maybe you loved, now baby I'm sure-ure", she sang. Massie started to laugh. As her mother sang on, giggling all the while, Massie started to laugh more and more. Soon, she and her mother were in a fit of laughter, and the judges were holding their heads in their hands. "I-I-I'm sorry but that was horrible", Paula stuttered. "Dawg, your not on, not tonight, not ever", Randy sighed. "Oh. My. God. Leave now. Good. Bye.", Simon said. By now, they were both laughing uncontrollably. Just then, Claire walked in the room.

"Hi, guys", she said, then realizing what they had been doing. Massie immediately stopped laughing. Claire started to giggle and picked up the microphone. She clicked to her character and picked "Sweet Dreams" for her song. "Sweet dreams are made of this, who am I to disagree, I traveled the world..", she sang. Massie's jaw dropped open and her mother put her arm around Claire. She sang in a low, great, beautiful, and strong voice.

"Claire, that was awesome!", Massie said, after she had finished. Claire smiled and looked down. "Thanks", she said quietly. "I think, you might actually go on, to sell, the most, records, of all the American Idol winners", they heard Simon say slowly. Claire jumped up and down and hugged Massie and her mother. They all laughed at Claire's joy, and they were actually having, what it seemed like, a "family" moment- that is, until Claire's brother, Todd, came in.

"Hey, babes, and I don't mean you, Claire", he said. Kendra laughed, but Massie gave her a confused look, and she gently slapped Todd on the arm. So did Massie, but harder. "Hey, don't be like that, Sugar!" he said, rubbing his arm. Massie stared at her mother in disbelief, willing her to tell him to back off or else... But all her mother did, was sigh, laugh, and walk out of the room. Massie sighed. Sooner than she thought possible, she heard Todd beginning to sing. Well, he sure didn't get the genes that Claire got, because he sang worse than her mother.

"Cause, my mama said, you can't hurry love, you just have to wait...", he sang horribly. Massie and Claire covered their ears and giggled. Then, Massie realized something. Todd was using HER character. His singing would be saved on her profile. Forever. And ever. "Ehmagawd, Todd!" Massie exclaimed. "What", he looked confused. "You're using my character, now I have a bad score on my card!" she exclaimed again. "Oopsss!" he laughed. "This is NOT funny, get out of my room, why are you even in here?" Massie said. Ah, how she loved to let her stress out by screaming at Todd. Claire tilted her head in sympathy for her brother, and mouthed sorry. "I'm not", Massie said, pointing to her door. Todd walked out of the room, looking discouraged. "Freak", Massie said.

Claire rolled her eyes, turned off the wii, and walked out of the room. Massie followed her into the kitchen. Claire opened the fridge, pulled out her iced caramel latte, then opened the cabinets until she found her bag of gummies. They were okay now, since Claire was back with Cam. Claire walked back into Massie's room and sat on her bed.

"What was that all about?" Massie asked, arching her thin eyebrows. "I was hungry", Claire shrugged. Massie looked confused then shrugged also and grabbed a gummy. She waved it in front of Claire's face. "Don't you dare tell anyone I had this", she threatened. Claire gave her an ah-bviously-because-you-don't-want-anyone-to-know-you-had-sugar-look. Massie leaned back on her bed and grabbed her Marie Claire. She flipped through the pages without looking at the models or articles.

"If you're not gonna read that, I will", Massie heard Alicia's voice. She got up and looked around. Claire pointed to the iMac, which was open. Alicia's face filled the screen, then Dylan filled half, then Tiffany, and Kristin. Massie squealed happily. "Hi!", she said happily, taking full control of the computer. Claire sighed, disappeared, and returned into the room with her mother's laptop. She got onto iChat and waved to everyone. Massie rolled her eyes. "Hey, I saw that", Claire ribbed Massie. Crunch. Crunch. Massie looked at the screen, and saw Dylan munching on Ritz crackers.

"Put the crackers down! Now! Follow your diet!" Massie demanded. "If you can dream it, you can do it", Claire giggle-quoted Blades of Glory. They all laughed. "Outfits!" Massie ordered excitedly. Dylan stepped back first, panning the computer webcam over her emerald, silk, button-down, shirt, black skinny jeans with rhinestones in floral patterns, black ballet flats, and a wide black plastic headband. "And the skin...", Massie prodded. Then, Dylan showed them her smooth, shaved legs, her moisturized arms, and her creamy cheek. "OMG, I love!!! I told you you look great in green!" Massie cried. Dylan smiled. "Rate", she added.

"Hmmm... 9.6", Massie finished. Dylan was satisfied. Suddenly, Paramore's Misery Business was blaring through their computer speakers. It was Kristen. She was up and twirling, showing off her lavender T-shirt layered under her navy blue tank top, white flared jeans, silver peep toe flats, and a huge purple jewel ring. "9.2", Massie said. "Want me to keep the background music on?" Massie shrugged yes. Kristen hit a couple CD player buttons as Alicia stood up and took a model's pose. She grabbed a shopping bag left over from Saturday, flung it over her wrist, put that hand on her hip, and jutted that hip out. Then, she poised one foot slightly in front of the other. She looked almost exactly like a mannequin in the Sacs glass window without any effort at all.

"That's what you get when you let your heart win, whoa-oa-oa-oa, that's what you get..." the lead singer sang. Alicia wore a shiny crimson tube top matched with a black miniskirt. "9.8 but it's a bit trashy… add your white James Perse tee underneath ", Massie fake-yawned and got up to change into a ratable outfit. Alicia immediately did what she was told. Claire stood quickly, scanning over her coral empire-waisted, shirt, white, above knee-length skirt, black boots, and huge bangles.

"9.4", Alicia filled in for Massie. Claire fake-frowned. Tiffany shot up wearing her blue, minidress and tan wedges. "Mass, rate Tiff", Alicia called. Massie peeked out of her closet and answered, "9.6". Dylan and Tiffany fake high-fived. Massie emerged from the closet in a short sleeved, powder blue, turtleneck, cream corduroys, black clogs, and her hair half-back in a black barrette. Everyone squealed.

"10!" They all screamed. Massie laughed. "Meet us?" Dylan asked. "Where", Massie said as a statement. "Book store, magazine stand section", Kristin finished. "'K", Massie said. She shut down her computer with Claire and hurried downstairs. She could see it sprinkling outside so she grabbed her trench jacket from the closet, and snatched up her purse made to look like it was made of newspapers. It completed her chic-school girl-book-lover-look. She ran outside with Claire following close behind. She grabbed Claire's arm and ran with her to the Range Rover.

"To the booksto-", Massie paused, "Where's Isaac?" Suddenly, he appeared in the car. He said hi to the girls and began driving to the bookstore.

Massie walked into the bookstore cafe, while smoothing on her Cotton Candy Glossip Girl. She sauntered over to her friends, who handed her a cappuccino. They stood by the magazine rack, looking at the People, Hello, Lucky, Vogue, Teen Vogue, Seventeen, and Cosmogirl issues, then the younger focused magazines: J-14, Tiger Beat, Bop, Teen, and Popstar. Massie picked out four different ones she favored, and walked over to the books. She found a style book she liked but of course she couldn't buy it! Everyone knew if she bought a style book, people would think she needed style tips, instead of already knowing everything about fashion she could.

"Can I hep you find anything hea today?" A teenage girl with a nametag reading Emily on it asked in an English accent. Massie put her finger to her chin. "Hmmm... get me one of the A-List books and one of the Gossip Girl books", she demanded. "Uh- they right ove thea, you can go get the-", Emily paused, when Massie gave her a withering stare, "Uh- sua, I'll go get them fo ya", she stuttered. She hurried away as Massie smiled and pulled a fuzz off of her shirt. The girl scurried back over with the books. Massie picked the ones she wanted and walked away. She got with her friends and walked them to the customer counter.

"Hey, this all?" A twenty-something guy with shaggy brown hair asked Massie. "Yup", she answered. He quickly scanned the books and magazines, flipped each of them, and threw them into the bag. "19.99", he said. She pulled out her platinum AmEx card and swiped it through the machine. She typed in her PIN, which was Bean's name in numbers. She slid the card back into her flat Coach wallet. He handed her receipt, she signed it, and she walked off without a thank you at all.  
Claire sat at the dinner table across from her parents. She wound her spaghetti around her fork and took a huge bite. "It's my turn to pick a movie tonight!" She smiled. Her mother took her plate and walked over to the sink silently. She was still mad.

"Mom, all I did was get a perm!" She exclaimed. Her mother continued washing Claire's plastic plate. Claire slouched down in her chair, fell off, and crawled to her room. She picked up Legally Blonde since Todd was at his friend's house and her dad went to his room. She inserted it into the DVD player in the living room and pressed play. She tried to pay attention to the movie but instead, kept on looking at her mother. She was now doing her taxes. Claire turned with a sigh, and saw Reese Witherspoon sitting in her room while her friend walked in saying,

"I have a low travelism, a-uh-t-trabelism". And her other friend saying, "It's metabolism, me-ta-bo-li-sm", she sounded out each syllable. Claire imitated her voice quietly, giggling. Suddenly, her mom busted out laughing. "That was perfect!" She cried. Claire arched her eyebrows and continued quoting the actress. Her mother was laughing harder now. Claire giggled and hugged herself. Her mom had forgiven her!  
Massie turned on her Manolo slide and slammed her fist on the door over and over. "Just a second!" Todd said in a girly voice. Suddenly Massie thought of an idea. "Todd, I have a little surprise for you, just stop leaning against the door, or I will pound you down.", she said in a flirty voice. Todd immediately lifted from his spot on her door. She pushed the door open hard. There was Todd, and Tiny Nathan, wearing two of her pink Victoria's Secret bras. She screamed.

"Those! Are! MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This. Is. My. Room!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she shrieked. They ran out of the room, still wearing her bras. She stared after them. She decided she didn't want them back anyway, and she shuddered. It was Monday morning and Massie was up early because Todd had sneaked into her room and turned her alarm clock an hour and a half earlier. She had rolled out of bed and walked to her bathroom to get ready while Todd walked into her room. Massie walked into her room and sat on her bed, not knowing how to waste her time. She suddenly walked downstairs quietly, closed the door and ran into the guesthouse without a sound. When she got to Claire's room, she tip-toed inside and shut the door.

Claire was sleeping in her bed, wearing her pajamas with the sushi on them. Massie sighed. Claire suddenly jerked to the side. Massie jumped with surprise, then hurried over to Claire. Claire raised her arm and slammed it back onto her night dresser. Massie covered her mouth when she let out a giggle. "Cam…", Claire mumbled. Massie leaned in closer to Claire's face. "Cam, why do you have to go? Oh! Well, bye!" Claire followed her own conversation while Massie shook with laughter. She was right by Claire's ear now. Suddenly, Claire sat upright and her head knocked Massie's back.

"Owww!" They both cried. Massie started to laugh. "What? Are you doing???", Claire asked while stifling a laugh. "Well, your brother woke me up early, and I was bored so I came in here and watched you sleep! Your actually pretty entertaining", she said with amusement. "Oh yeah, why?" Claire asked with annoyance. "Well, first, you said, 'Cam…'", she replied with a chuckle. Claire buried her head in her pillow. "Great. Then what." "Then you said, 'Cam, why do you have to go? Oh! Well, bye!'" Massie finished. Claire smiled a tiny bit then giggled. Her smile faded to a confused look. "What's with the fancy clothes?" she asked. She looked at Massie's plaid red shirt, black vest, black miniskirt with red rhinestones, huge diamond necklace, cocktail ring, and red Prada alligator skin pumps. "I'm not that fancy, and anyway, we don't want Dempsey to change his mind, do we?" Massie said with a playful smile. Claire smiled back and got up to get ready.

"We don't want Cam to either!" she said, then she smiled and used her puppy dog eyes. Massie sighed teasingly. "Fine, you can use the closet!" she laughed. Claire jumped up and down and ran out of her room.

Massie tilted her Sephora mirror under her desk and touched her dry lips. She desperately wanted to put on her Frozen Yogurt Glossip Girl, but she just couldn't. Even though the boys were still in the overflow building, she felt like they were always watching her. She looked around casually then raised her slender arm. "Yes, Massie?" Mrs. Stadlan asked. "Can I go to the lost and found? I lost an earring." She said as she covered her right ear. "Well, yes, I guess, but hurry back. You don't want to miss our lesson, do you?" she said with a smile. Massie rolled her eyes. "Can I take Claire, I think she said she lost her jacket earlier…" she said. Claire's head jerked up.

"Uh… yeah, could I go and check if my jacket's there….?" She said with a confused look. "Well, things seem to be just going missing lately, don't they?" she said with suspicion in her voice. Claire and Massie giggled nervously. "Go. Hurry." Their teacher said. They rushed out of their seats and ran out of the room. When they got to the bathroom, Claire hit Massie on the arm. "OW! What was that for???" Massie asked. "What? Are you doing???" Claire asked, her brows knit. "I don't know, I desperately needed lip gloss…", she replied, feeling stupid now.

"Um… can't you put that on in cla- oh wait! Do you feel the same way I do? You know, like, you feel how all the guys are always looking at us?" Claire asked with an amused look. "Just a little", Massie said, embarrassed, "Why do you look so amused?". "Cause I love seeing you when you're all uncomfortable", Claire laughed. Massie scowled, "You're no help!" Claire continued giggling. Then she pulled out her cherry chapstick and slid it on. Massie handed her a tube of Gingerbread Glossip Girl as she slid on her own Candy Apple flavored one.

After they were finished, Claire fished out her cell phone and motioned for Massie to come over, "Look!" Suddenly the door started to open. Massie caught a glimpse of Ms. Wilton and she quickly pulled Claire into a stall. They slammed the door together and tried to hold in their laughs. Claire shook her head and showed her cell phone to Massie. It said:

**1 NEW MESSAGE. FROM:CAM TO:CLAIRE**

**HEY, I'VE BEN TRYIN 2 STUDY BUT UR JUST WAY 2 DISTRACTIN, HOW BOUT HELPIN ME 2NITE INSTED!;-) **

Claire squealed quietly then covered her mouth. Massie smirked at her excitement but elbowed her with a smile to let her know she was happy for her. She was a bit jealous though because she couldn't even remember the last time Dempsey had texted her. She pulled out her phone searching for the little envelope in the corner of her screen. There was nothing. She went to her message menu. She scrolled down to look at her saved messages. Sometimes she would leave messages there for herself. She looked up when she heard Ms. Wilton wash her hands and walk out the door. They hurried to let themselves out of the crowded stall then walked out of the bathroom, Massie slipping her phone in her pocket. When they got back to class, they shrugged to the teacher, letting her know they didn't find their missing clothes. Everyone was reading, so Massie hid her cell phone behind a fashion magazine. She went back to her saved messages.

**FROM:MASSIE TO:MASSIE**

**REMEMBER, GET RALPH LAUREN PERFUME FOR LEESH'S B-DAY. **

**1 NEW MESSAGE. FROM:DEMPSEY TO:MASSIE**

**HEY, CAN'T WAIT TO C U THE DANCE! LITERALLY! HANG OUT 2moro 7? ILL PICK U UP!:)**

Massie gasped. He had sent the message directly to her saved messages last night. Claire glanced over at Massie questioningly. Massie forwarded the message to Claire who smiled when she received it. Massie heard the door open and saw the always sweat-drenched Lauren Kenley walk in and hand the teacher a late slip. She then walked to her unfortunately placed desk behind Massie. Massie immediately pinched her nose at the tuna/salt/mayo smell that wafted up her nostrils. She dug through her purse and pulled out her Clinique Happy perfume and enjoyed the citrus smell as she spritzed it around her. She casually turned the bottle backwards and pushed the spray button.

Lauren coughed then sneezed two times. Massie snickered then stuck the perfume sample back into her Original Coach. As Lauren continued coughing, Massie flipped the pages of her Cosmogirl searching for the Relationships section. Just as she got to the page and began reading, the bell rang. Massie got up and placed her bronzed hand just above Lauren's shoulder to avoid B.O. rubbing on to her palm.

"You should really take care of that cold, Laur", she said faux-sweetly. Lauren opened her mouth but Massie pivoted on her heel and walked away, Claire following, glancing back at Lauren who began to sneeze.

Massie walked into the lunchroom with Claire, set her purse down on the Table 18 four-top, and pulled up a chair for Claire like she did daily. Then she lined up behind Dylan in the lunch line, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. Dylan turned around, revealing her lunch tray which was piled with buttery mashed potatoes. She smiled sheepishly as Massie shook her head. Massie grabbed a clear plastic lunch tray and picked out a peanut butter sandwich, a salad with carrots, celery, grilled chicken, and a lemon drizzle, a bottle of Evian, and a can of Mocha Crème Coffee. She made a swiping motion with her hand to the lunch lady, then walked to her table with Dylan. Claire got up from her chair and walked to the line. Kristen was sitting there, sipping on a Peppermint Twist Holiday cup of coffee.

"Where did you get that?" Dylan asked, looking pathetically at her Green Apple Izze, the drink she'd chosen. "I went down to-", she lowered her voice to a whisper, "the room and got one at the Starbucks bar." Since the girls complained about the unfortunately placed locker room, the principal had finally agreed (after Massie's parents donated a bunch of money) to just add on to the overflow building. Now, there was basically another school sitting beside them. It wasn't nearly as big, but it had the basic amount of rooms a school needed. The girls didn't even see the boys during lunch! Massie still felt she was watched by them and she looked around consciously, not wanting to eat in front of boys.

"And you didn't get US one?" Massie asked, raising an eyebrow and stabbing a piece of lettuce and shaking off the piece of chicken. "Sorry, I was rushed. I thought it was my turn to watch the purses at the table", Kristen shrugged. "Nope, it was my turn", Claire said, as she returned to her chair with coleslaw, a turkey sandwich, and a vitamin C packed orange tart. "Wow, no carbs…" Massie said to Claire. "Yeah, well. There was nothing better to get", Claire replied, eyeing Dylan's lunch longingly. "Sure… so it has nuh-thing to do with Cam, Kuh-laire?" Massie asked, pursing her lips. Claire shrugged with a smile and Massie giggled. "Knew it." Massie accidentally got another chicken piece, "Gawd, why is there so much chicken in this thing, it's sooo fattening!" She exclaimed.

As she started fishing out all the chicken and laying it on Claire's plate, Alicia speed-walked over to the table and sat down breathlessly. "Sorry I'm late. Had some school reporter business to do", Alicia sighed. "You don't want anything to eat?" Dylan asked with disbelief. Alicia shook her head. Massie immediately picked up her sandwich to throw it away, not wanting to seem like a pig compared to Alicia. Alicia reached out, "Unless you're not going to eat that… can I have it?" Alicia asked. Massie handed it to Alicia quickly and popped a carrot into her mouth.

"So… did you hear about Lauren Kinley?" Alicia asked, her eyes bright from her love of gossip. Dylan shook her head as she stuffed three grease-coated fries into her mouth. Kristen dabbed her roll into her French Onion dip. "No, what happened?" She asked. "She had to be taken to the hospital!" Alicia leaned in, her friends doing the same. "Apparently, she was allergic to something that she breathed in. When they rolled her off, she was trying to say something about perfume…" Alicia trailed off as Claire and Massie stared at her with wide eyes.

Massie began laughing, "Ehmagawd! I sprayed some Clinique on her to hide her serious B.O. problem!" She laughed. Kristen, Alicia, and Dylan snickered with Massie but Claire sat with her mouth wide. "What's up with you?" Massie asked her. "You could have killed her, do you realize that?" Claire asked Massie. The girls stared at Claire, thinking she was joking. "I'm not joking", Claire said honestly. "You serious? She's fine! Gawd! Major heart attack…" Massie rolled her eyes. Claire crossed her arms and searched the lunchroom.

"Where's Vera?" She asked. Massie ignored her. "She's moving", Alicia said dismissively. "What?" Claire asked, "Already? Why?" "Quote, 'I'm not a biggie in Cliques, and I didn't fit in with those girls… Plus, an ex-boyfriend caused complications' End quote. I heard she moved to public school because her parents couldn't afford private anyway, and she was hoping for a scholarship. Guess she didn't get it", Alicia said. Massie laughed again and Claire sympathized but decided ignoring Massie was too hard, and scooted her chair closer to let Massie know she was talking to her again. Massie smiled then threw her salad in the trash and drained her mocha, throwing that in too.

"The dance, is sooo, going to be awesome!" Dylan squealed excitedly as she licked chocolate from her fingers. Claire smiled at Dylan and nodded to agree, chewing on her tart. Massie immediately got up, "Duh, it's going to be great. Because, WE will be there", She lowered her voice, "with dates!" They all squealed. Massie linked arms with Alicia and Kristen as Claire and Dylan dumped their lunches into the green recycle bin.

"That's really the only way I feel good about eating! At least I'm recycling a lot more than OTHERS", she said to Claire as she nudged Alicia and Massie. "Well, at least _I _don't act like a pig in front of people", Massie stated, facing forward with her head high. Dylan snorted like a pig. Only Claire laughed, though Massie could see Alicia snickering with Kristen.

"Are we going to the room?" Kristen asked loudly. "Shhhh!!!" The girls giggled as they shushed her. "Uh, I mean, HOMEROOM! Are we going to HOMEROOM?" Kristen said, looking around, to see if anyone noticed. They laughed at her attempt to cover herself. Massie walked down the stairs carefully, making sure her heels weren't tapping too loudly. Since the Pretty Committee had gotten their room back, everything had been replaced to it's original position except, of course, the television, which was now transformed into just a regular plasma flatscreen tv. "Mr. Feelings", as Massie called him, didn't like his students being watched by a bunch of gossipy girls, apparently.

When they walked in, Dylan tossed out her empty Izze, and got a Peppermint Twist Holiday coffee for everyone. Massie sipped her cup, then sat down in one of the pedicure tubs that was empty of water.

A woman in an apron ran out, "Do you want a pedicure, dear?" She asked Massie. "No. I don't have time. We have to get back to class in…, " Massie checked her white leather Swarovski crystal-embedded watch, "eleven minutes." "Oh, well all right then", the woman scurried off. "Gawd, she's so needy", Massie said as she stirred a candy cane into her coffee. Alicia was over by the mirror, checking her gloss.

"So Mass?" Alicia asked, as she dabbed on some lip stain for color to her gray-toned outfit. "Yeah, Leesh?" Massie replied, looking through the clothes rack, searching for a cute jacket for the next day. "Is my outfit too bland?" She asked running up to Massie with hopeful eyes. Suddenly the whole PC was surrounded around Massie, asking her this and that about their outfits.

"Stop!" Massie held her hand up and triple-clapped. The girls fell silent. "One at a time. Alicia, you first. State your concerns", Massie said, doing a good interpretation of a judge. Claire giggled with Dylan but watched intently as Massie gave Alicia a navy belt, colorful earrings, navy flats, instead of silver, and a plaid headband. Alicia took them gratefully and started putting them on as Dylan stood up.

"Are these prints too different to clash?" She asked. "And should I switch the green and black to green and white or will that look too cheerleader-like?" Massie tapped her finger against her chin and snapped. She quickly gave Dylan a shirt with small stripes, rather than big. "When you're mixing prints, remember, if one print's big, the other must be small or it'll be too messy. Same with small prints. And keep the green and black. You're right about the cheerleader thing." Dylan walked away satisfied, and headed to the closet to change shirts.

Kristen stepped up, "Too much Roxy?" She asked. Massie nodded, inspecting Kristen's Roxy surfer blouse, and her Roxy capris. She grabbed a pair of midnight-rinse Seven jeans and handed them to Kristen, who walked into the closet as Dylan came out. Massie gave her the thumbs up and looked at Claire.

"I don't have any concerns since I dressed from your closet and you told me what to wear…" Claire said. Massie chewed on her lip, and pulled out a belt, "Yeah, but I didn't have this belt at home!" She said as she handed it to Claire, who put it on. The rest of the girls looked enviously at Claire, wishing they could dress with Massie every morning. Massie inspected their outfits, then smiled and turned back around, satisfied.

She pulled out a cashmere scarf and put it in her white quilted Chanel tote. If only she could stuff the whole rack into her purse. She'd have to have a pretty big bag… and of course, she wouldn't even then, not wanting to risk looking like an amateur hoard freak.

"Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop." Massie turned around in confusion, not recognizing the voice that was persuading her to go deaf so she wouldn't have to hear how annoying it was.


End file.
